1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a transfer member, a method for manufacturing a transfer member and an apparatus for manufacturing a transfer member.
2. Related Art
In the related art, there is a demand for materials in which glossy or shiny images are recorded in order to improve design effects and appearance. Examples of recording media on which images are recorded include paper and films used for packing or packages of cosmetics, medicine and the like, and fabrics and leathers used for clothes, daily necessities and the like. Generally, a prerequisite to impart gloss or shine to images is an even surface for images. In particular, an even surface becomes essential for glitter images.
Examples of methods for recording glitter images on a recording medium known in the art include a stamping method in which a recording medium having a highly even recording surface is selected and a metal foil is pressed on the recording medium to record an image, and a method for depositing a metal on a recording medium such as a plastic film having an even recording surface. In addition, examples of methods for forming glitter images by coating a recording medium with a glitter pigment include screen printing, transfer printing and the like.
A method known in the related art similar to the stamping or transfer printing method is for example a printing method disclosed in JP-A-2008-044130. In addition, a method comprising forming an image using an ink containing a metal pigment and flattening the surface of the image by pressing was suggested as a method known in the art for forming a glitter image by applying a glitter pigment to a recording medium by an ink jet method (for example, JP-A-2002-179960).
Meanwhile, for example, JP-A-2009-107283 discloses a method for forming a glitter image on a recording medium using transfer as a transfer printing method. This document discloses a method in which a metal pigment ink is applied to a substrate including an ink accepting layer and a thermal adhesive layer through the thermal adhesive layer and the ink is transferred together with the ink accepting layer to another medium through the thermal adhesive layer.
However, the deposition and screen printing methods are commonly performed using a large-scale apparatus. For example, the screen printing method has no great problem in the case of manufacturing bulky recording materials, but when recording materials are evaluated through sample printing or test printing or a small amount of other types of recording materials are produced, manufacturing of a plate is required for each recording process and this is insufficient from the viewpoint of the efforts, consumed time and costs. Furthermore, there are great difficulties associated with deposition or screen printing, when consumers and the like make recording materials in the house or workplace.
In addition, in accordance with a stamping or transfer printing method of the related art, the ink present in a region corresponding to the desired image is transferred from a film in which the entire surface thereof is coated with a metal foil or glitter ink to a recording medium. For this reason, there are problems such as great waste of metal or ink and disposal of the used films.
Meanwhile, a recording method using an ink jet method is superior to a screen printing method in that the method can be performed using relatively small-scale equipment and waste of used ink (metal) can be suppressed. However, for example, in order to impart excellent photoluminescence to images formed by an ink jet method, there are restrictions such as flattening of the surface of images, additional processes such as pressing and a necessity of using highly even recording media. For this reason, with a recording method using the ink jet method, it is difficult to record excellent glitter images on recording media with a lack of surface evenness such as general paper or fabrics.
In addition, JP-A-2009-107283 described above discloses that a metal pigment which permeates into an ink accepting layer exhibits photoluminescence. This method requires a thermal adhesive layer which cause permeation of an ink, a transparent ink accepting layer and a metal pigment (particle diameter of 20 nm) which can permeate a thermal adhesive layer and has a limited selection of these materials. Furthermore, obtainable photoluminescence of images is realized through the ink accepting layer, thus disadvantageously making it difficult to secure evenness of the glitter surface and exhibit inherent photoluminescence of the ink.